All Your What Ifs
by Descending Rainfall
Summary: The school of jokes is not to be taken lightly. ShitenhoujiOC Team. Multi chap spinoff of From Sky High. For roe2.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi.

**A/N: **Who doesn't love Shitenhouji? Dedicated to **roe2**, the number one Shitenhouji fan! Also, be sure to check out "Make A Treasure" by her because it's awesome.

Just a quick warning, but there's a crapload of stuff that goes on, and it might be hard to remember all of it. This is only a prologue though, and it reveals a little about each important character. The next chapters go more in depth about each character, though.

* * *

><p><strong>~xXx~<strong>

**Chapter 1: In which there is far too much hassle in the first week of school**

**~xXx~**

"_Lean on me when you're not strong_

_And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on_

_For it won't be long_

'_Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on."_

—Bill Withers, _Lean On Me_

**~xXx~**

* * *

><p>By now, it was custom for Shiraishi and Kenya to ditch the morning assembly. Having both gone to Shitenhouji's middle and high school versions, they figured it wouldn't really matter if they went to the rooftop instead.<p>

Kenya yawned, covering his mouth with a hand. "And how was your time off?" he asked, leaning against the railing.

"The usual," Shiraishi shrugged, gazing impassively at the first years lined up down below. "Hung out with Yukari and Chiaki-chan mostly, and Nee-san swung by for a visit, too."

The other boy snorted. "Sounds pretty lame to me. I went down to Tokyo and spent a week with Yuushi and Erena-san. Then I went on a few dates with Narumi when I got back." Kenya smiled at his last sentence, eyes shining with fondness when he mentioned his girlfriend's name.

Shiraishi wrinkled his nose. "I still don't get what you see in her," he stated bluntly. For the life of him he couldn't understand how his positive and energetic friend ended up with someone like _her_.

"She's a really cool person."

"She hates me, too."

Kenya shrugged, which only meant it was true. "She only doesn't like you because of the stuff that goes on between you and Sakita. Can you really blame Narumi, though? It's kind of fucked up, what you're doing to her best friend."

Shiraishi's brown eyes narrowed, mouth set in a firm line. "There is nothing wrong with what happens between me and Sakita." His tone was final, ending all discussion.

Kenya merely shrugged again.

**~xXx~**

"Another year, huh?" Nanase smiled as she entered the clubhouse. She was tall, with limbs that should have looked lanky but were graceful and relaxed instead. "Ready for this, Seika?" she asked the girl sitting at the desk in front of her.

Seika nodded, saying "Of course," around the hair tie in her mouth. Her hands were behind her head, fingers skillfully weaving through her curly blue-black hair. Nanase, who could pretty much only handle ponytails, was envious of Seika for being able to braid so easily like that.

"I just finished the blocks for the ranking tournament tomorrow, want to take a look?" Seika asked, prodding the papers towards Nanase.

Nanase shuffled through the papers, nodding every now and then. Suddenly, as she was reading Block C, she frowned, looked up in confusion at her captain. "You put Haruka-chan in the same block as you? Why?" she asked.

Seika shrugged, finishing her spiraling waterfall braid before answering. She stood up to her full height, which was still half a head shorter than Nanase. But there was something about Seika that radiated confidence, showed strength and formidability beneath her short and compact frame.

Then again, Nanase thought, she didn't know anyone who was stronger than Seika.

"Haruka," the blue-black haired girl said softly, "will be fine. And can I really say it's a new year when I haven't played a match against my little sister yet?" She smiled thinly, wry and ambiguous and so Seika-like.

Nanase shrugged, though she couldn't help but feel bad for Haruka. Seika was inspiration to some and danger to others, and from what Nanase had seen of the relationship between the two sisters, she couldn't tell which Seika was to Haruka. Of course, there was some bad blood between Seika and Haruka's father, but that wasn't something Nanase wanted to delve too deeply into. Some things were to be kept between only those that were involved.

"Okay," she said instead, glancing back down at the papers. "Hmm, you put me with Kaiya, huh? And Akari's with Arine-chan in Block A?" Nanase mused, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I think those blocks should work. Narumi won't have any trouble getting through Block D, though, since they're mostly first and second years."

"Oh really," Seika raised a brow in amusement. "Look more closely, Chiaki, and then tell me again."

Nanase rolled her eyes. "For the last time, why won't you call me Nanase?" she chided, but she did take another look at Block D. "Okay, so there's Wakamatsu Touko, then Tachiguchi Kita, and Hayami Saya…Seika, none of these people are regular material!"

The captain sighed, took the papers from Nanase and pointed at the last name on the list. "Think, Chiaki! Remember when we were scouting the middle school circuit for any promising ninth graders last year? Remember the Seigaku captain?" she urged, pointing at the name with extra emphasis.

Narrowing her eyes, Nanase read the name and nodded slowly. "Interesting, very interesting," she mused, tapping her chin in thought. "Why would she come here, of all places, when she used to play for a school in Tokyo? Seigaku of all schools, especially."

Seika set the paper down. "That's exactly my question, Chiaki. Maybe we should have done our research more thoroughly," she agreed.

"Well, anyway," Seika sighed as she checked her watch. "It's almost time for clubs to start. Let's get this started, shall we?"

"Agreed," Nanase nodded. "It's a new year, after all."

**~xXx~**

Kaori wished she had taken her mother's advice before transferring from Tokyo to Osaka. Or if she hadn't, at least she should have tried familiarizing herself with the Kansai dialect, because in retrospect that would have been super helpful.

She could understand it, yes, but she just wasn't completely used to it. During the first years' assembly, it had taken her a good couple seconds to understand the principal's joke because her brain had still been processing what he'd been saying. Some of the kids around her had given her weird looks when laughed too late, already branding her as a newbie.

And, well, she was kind of just that.

Kaori was in Class 1-4, and her seating partner was some stereotypical jock that was all brawn and no brains. She didn't remember his name, didn't quite care either. He seemed to reciprocate the feelings though, giving her a quick once over before contemptuously making a point of looking away. _Yeah, thanks asshole. I'm sorry I'm not pretty enough to meet your kiddie pool shallow expectations._

At least she had tennis practice to look forward to. She'd been apprehensive about playing again after the incident last year, but this was Shitenhouji, this was Osaka, this was Kansai. Kaori wasn't in Tokyo anymore, and that meant she was safe. Nobody knew her here.

And, well, she'd heard plenty of good things about this team too. So what could possibly go wrong?

A lot. But she wouldn't learn that until the end of the day.

**~xXx~**

She was the first one to the locker room, so Kaori chose the first locker at random. When she opened it, though, there was a note on the inside, handwritten in black ink.

_DO NOT TAKE THIS LOCKER. IT BELONGS TO ASUMI ASAKA, THE ONLY RIGHTFUL OWNER IT WILL EVER HAVE._

Kaori couldn't help but roll her eyes as she tore the note off and ripped it to pieces. _Bullshit_, she thought. Who the hell actually claimed lockers, and whoever they were why did they claim this locker? It didn't look special, there were no territorial markings on the inside, so Kaori could damn well take it if she wanted. And what happened when "Asumi Asaka" graduated, would there still be no other rightful owner? It made no sense whatsoever.

She placed her bag inside, only to hear a voice from behind her say, "I wouldn't take that locker if I were you. Asumi-senpai will be pretty mad."

Kaori turned to meet what she guessed was her fellow club member. It was a girl with long blonde hair the color of butterscotch, with a smile that was friendly and natural. Her eyes were green, and they were smiling, too. It was obvious from a first glance that this girl was nice and bubbly to the core, not a cruel bone in her body.

And that was exactly the type of girl that Kaori usually tried avoiding because they a) made her feel crappy about herself or b) were kind of annoying.

The girl smiled, extended a slender hand for Kaori to shake. "Hi there! I'm Sonohara Haruka, a second year. Are you a first year, I don't think I've seen you before," she introduced, friendly smile in place the whole time.

"Yeah," Kaori nodded, clasping her hand. "Takahashi Kaori. So what makes this locker so special to Asumi-senpai? It looks just like all the others," she gestured around the room. Every locker was exactly the same, with blue painted doors and black locks.

Haruka shrugged. "I don't know, no one really does. But Asumi-senpai isn't exactly the nicest person around, so no one questions her. No one except buchou, actually, but it's not like Asumi-senpai will take orders from anyone so it works out, I guess."

Kaori lifted a brow, but chose not to say anything even if this "Asumi-senpai" made her blood boil. Asumi probably wasn't vice captain, since Haruka didn't call her fukubuchou, and she wasn't captain either, so what gave her the right to order other people around like that? Kaori wanted to deal a few choice words to her when she met her, but then she remembered that she couldn't. Asumi was a senior while Kaori was only a first year, and she _had _to be respectful to her seniors.

Well, she thought darkly as she swung open the locker door. Damn the cultural values.

"What are you doing?" Haruka asked, sounding confused and a little panicked. Kaori ignored her, continued to shove her backpack and sports bag into Asumi Asaka's locker. "She's going to kill you for taking her locker!" the blonde girl warned.

"Not if I have anything to do with it," Kaori shrugged, slamming it shut. "Think of it as an act of rebellion against a tyrant, Sonohara-senpai."

Haruka thought for a second, then her smile became wider, if that was even possible. "Yeah," she laughed good naturedly, opening her own locker a few rows away. "I guess that's kind of befitting Asumi-senpai, actually. Just try not to rebel against buchou, she'll _really _kill you."

"What was that I just heard about me, Haruka?" a new voice entered the room. Both Kaori and Haruka turned to it, Haruka in slight sheepishness and Kaori in curiosity. A girl with blue-black hair and eyes like shards of jade was walking in, looking authoritative and powerful. This, Kaori assumed, was the nationally strong captain she'd heard about from her sister and former teammates. Nakagawa Seika, the Kansai prodigy. Strangely, Kaori had imagined her to be taller, but that didn't matter.

"Oh, hi Onee-chan!" Haruka smiled brilliantly, but there was something in her eyes that resembled nervousness, like she was somewhat afraid of being around Nakagawa Seika—her sister, apparently, though Kaori found that they looked nothing alike. "Takahashi-chan here just took Asumi-senpai's locker even after I warned her not too, and that's pretty brave, don't you think?" Haruka gestured towards Kaori.

Seika looked at her too, and suddenly Kaori understood why Haruka had been so nervous earlier. There was something in her jade green eyes that saw all and knew all, and that made Kaori feel like Seika knew about her, about what had happened last year. But she couldn't possibly know, could she, because Osaka was so far away from Tokyo, and Seika was a third year?

No, Kaori decided, Seika did not—could not—know about the incident last year. And she was going to make sure that her new captain would not find out.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Seika shrugged, opened her own locker. "Good for you, Takahashi-san. Though I'm not going to be the one to tell Asumi who took her locker," was all she said.

**~xXx~**

"Ready to go?" Kenya asked, picking up his sports bag from the floor.

Narumi glanced at Akari quickly before turning back to Kenya, nodding as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Yeah, let's head down. You coming, Aka?"

The other girl shook her head, chocolate brown hair spilling down her back. "I said I'd wait for him." She said quietly, not meeting Narumi's eyes.

That response did not please Narumi, and she knew that Akari knew it. Her mouth set in a displeased frown, Narumi took Kenya's hand and strode out of the room.

"Damn that bandage wearing pretty boy," Narumi swore the second they were out of earshot. "I still don't get what she sees in him."

Kenya chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze. "You know, he asked me the same thing earlier, except it was about you."

She cast him a sideways glance, her lips curving up into a smile that only he could prompt from her. "And what was your response?" Narumi teased, bumping shoulders with him.

He grinned, leaned towards her until their foreheads touched. "That you're a pretty cool person, but that you hate him. Isn't that the truth?"

Smiling a little, she said, "That pretty much sums it up," before pressing a kiss to the side of his mouth. "Now we should probably get down to practice, or else Seika's going to kick my ass."

"Yeah," Kenya laughed, leaning back—but not before he left a kiss on her cheek. "She probably would."

**~xXx~**

"Sorry I'm late," Shiraishi said. "I had to talk to the math teacher about something."

Akari nodded, choosing not to say anything and just watch him, bask in his appearance. _Perfect_, she thought wistfully, _you're so perfect it hurts._ Because he was perfect, and that made him everything she wanted but could never be herself.

He raised a brow, looked at her impassively. He was good at that, always giving her that look every time they were alone like this. It made her blood burn, like someone had replaced it with lava. She didn't know if it was a good feeling, but she did know that it made her feel good, important, _wanted_

For a moment she thought he was going to run his fingers through her hair, or hold her face in his hands, but the moment passed when he turned away and began walking. "It's time for practice," was all he said, not sparing her another glance.

She watched him for another second, drank in his silvery-brown hair and lithe, athletic build. The bandages on his left arm, the ones she'd felt against her skin too many times to count. How during the day he didn't treat her quite right, but at night he made her feel just perfect, his mouth on hers, their bodies pressed close together.

_So, so perfect it hurts._

And of course, that just reminded Akari of how pathetic and weak she was.

**~xXx~**

Narumi was waiting for her at the locker rooms, arms crossed and mouth twisted in a disappointed scowl. Akari cringed, knowing exactly what her best friend was going to say. She'd heard the same thing over and over, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt less each time. It wasn't less true each time, either, which Akari wished it could be.

"He's nice to me, okay?" Akari said softly, voice cracking. "He's not a bad person."

Narumi scoffed, scowl deepening. "And he'll break your heart, too," she warned. Akari didn't doubt her, either. Narumi was always right.

But at the same time, she wanted him to break her heart, crush it under his heel and shatter it into a thousand pieces. Because at least she'd know that she was worth something, even if she was just a pretty face or someone to kiss meaninglessly.

"You and Kenya-kun are lucky, you know," Akari said, delicately stepping past Narumi. "He's honest and you're down to earth. I'm just not that lucky."

From behind her, Narumi said, "It's not a matter of luck, Aka. It's a matter of what you want and choose it to be, and this definitely isn't what you want but you take it anyway but you chose him."

"That's true," Akari admitted, ducking her head in shame. _I'm pathetic, I'm so, so, pathetic and he's so perfect, it just hurts so much_. "But what else can I ask from him?"

Narumi huffed. "Why are you even asking these things from him when he clearly doesn't give a shit about you?" she snapped, words harsh and blunt but so true at the same time.

Akari studied her locker, not wanting to meet her best friend's gaze. Slowly, she said, "Maybe there's some part of me that thinks he'll change his mind."

**~xXx~**

As she scanned the crowd of club members, there was one face in particular Seika could not find. The dread worsened in her stomach the more she kept looking, and when she still couldn't find that one face her mood darkened immediately. "Chiaki," she hissed to her vice captain out of the corner of her mouth. "Get. Her. Now."

Nanase, to her credit, already knew whom Seika was talking about. She nodded almost resignedly, shuffling off dutifully in the direction of the principal's office. _That Kaiya_, Nanase thought amusedly, _of course she got in trouble on the first day_.

The secretary didn't even bother asking her questions, just lifted a brow lethargically before looking back down at her crossword puzzle. "She's in there as usual," she shrugged, placing her feet up on her desk. Nanase nodded politely in thanks, though she couldn't help but think that maybe it was a bad thing she was so familiar with the secretary. Oh well, it was Kaiya's fault, not hers.

While Shitenhouji's middle school principal was a complete jokester, the high school principal was a different story. He was fair tempered, Nanase supposed, but much more serious, and he'd been dealing with Kaiya's antics for two years. He'd have to hit a breaking point sooner or later (Nanase, Seika, Narumi, and Akari had actually placed bets on when exactly this would be, and from the looks of it Seika had won. Damn it, Seika _always _won).

"Good afternoon, Fujisaki-sensei," she greeted lightly, breezing into the room and plopping down into her usual chair. "Before you even tell me what happened, I'd like to apologize for Kaiya's behavior and for whatever else she did. Now can we go? I need to be there for the first practice."

Fujisaki scowled, glaring pointedly at the girl sitting across from him. "Tell me that again when you hear what amazing act Hanamaru-san has pulled off today," he replied sarcastically, giving Kaiya the evil eye.

Nanase raised a brow. "Jesus Kaiya, what did you _do_?"

The girl nervously smiled as she fingered a strand of curly black hair, honey eyes as mischievous as ever yet the rest of her face was pure guilt and sheepishness. "Err…it might have included Endo's highlighter collection and Muramoto-sensei's pet rabbit…you really don't want to know."

"You're right. I definitely don't," Nanase agreed, mentally face palming and outwardly grimacing. She loved Kaiya, she really did, but goddammit, did she _have _to get in trouble on the first day of school, when club members would be signing up? Nanase really had to be there, considering she was vice captain and all. Plus, Seika would _kill _her if she missed it. "I didn't even know Endo had a highlighter collection, and I don't want to know why."

"It also turns out that he's a Hello Kitty enthusiast."

"Kaiya, you really need to shut up."

Kaiya laughed, but stopped once she noticed Fujisaki's pointed look.

"Chiaki-san, you and Hanamaru-san can go to your club, but I think a new system is necessary," he sighed, rubbing at his temples. "You can only get called in here for every seven ridiculous acts you pull, Hanamaru. Got it?"

Kaiya nodded, cracking a smile out of relief. "Yeah, got it. Thanks, sensei."

Fujisaki _harrumphed_, which they took as a good sign.

"I _swear_," Kaiya commented on the way out. "That man is getting balder every time I see him."

"I wonder why," Nanase responded sarcastically.

Goodness, her doubles partner really needed a filter for her mouth. Or duct tape. That could work too, Nanase contemplated. She'd have to ask Seika what the club budget was so she could invest on finding ways to keep Kaiya's mouth shut.

**~xXx~**

By the time Nanase and Kaiya got back to the courts, the first and second years were already busy with drills and warming up. Seika had clearly cut away any fancy introductions and set them to work immediately, which was so typical Seika.

Minami Narumi, a good friend of Nanase's and a regular, waved them over. Narumi was of average height, with brown-black hair tied back in a tight ponytail. She wore large, black framed "hipster" glasses over her blue eyes that made her look serious and intelligent.

"About time you showed up," she smiled, jerking her thumb in the direction of the courts. "Seika's just having the first and second years play today to evaluate their skill. Us third years are supposed to stay and watch, too, since there aren't any other courts available."

Kaiya grinned. "Sounds like fun," she said, honey eyes glancing around the area. "Where's Akari, though? Isn't she always with you, Rumi?"

Narumi's eyes darkened, and Nanase knew exactly what was coming up. Bracing herself for a tirade against her close friend, she first said, "I swear he doesn't mean any harm, Rumi, so maybe you should give him a break," to no avail. Once started, Narumi didn't stop until she was thoroughly finished.

"She's off with that pretty boy from hell," Narumi spat, glare venomous. "And I know you're good friends with him, Nanase, but that doesn't mean I'm entitled to like him, and I don't. What he's doing to Aka is just fucked up, and he knows it but he acts like it's nothing, and that's hurting her. He knows he's hurting her, too, but doesn't do anything about it which is the worst part of it all, and if he so much as takes things too far I'll tie those bandages around somewhere much more appropriate!"

Silently, Nanase counted to ten. Fifteen actually, for good measure. Then, she said, "You good now, Rumi?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Narumi sighed, exhaling. "I just can't stand Shiraishi, though. Sorry I made you listen to that, Nanase, I know you've been friends for what, ten years?"

"Eleven," Nanase corrected, though it wasn't like it really mattered. There was a more serious matter at hand. "And actually…you're kind of right, Rumi. I don't agree with what he's doing, either, but what can we do about it? The only one who can stop anything is Akari, and do you really think she'll do that?" She said softly, knowing how protective Narumi was over her best friend.

Narumi shrugged, crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders a little. "She'll make the right decision eventually, but it might be too late when she finally does," she replied seriously, glaring at her feet. "And I guess I have to respect that for now."

**~xXx~**

"Hey, Takahashi-chan," Haruka whispered as they practiced serves, pointing to the girl in charge of volley drills. "That's Asumi-senpai, the one whose locker you took."

"Wait, really? _That's _the famous Asumi-senpai that's so scary?" Kaori repeated in disbelief, blinking several times to make sure her eyes weren't tricking her. "She looks really nice, though, and normal."

"It's the craziest ones that always look normal," Haruka replied gravely, serving what would be a clean ace down the middle. "She probably already knows that you took her locker, so be careful around her."

Kaori shook her head in disbelief again, looking back at Asumi Asaka one more time just to be sure. Asumi really did look normal, and kind of pretty, too. Her reddish-brown hair was in a bob cut, and she was laughing kindly as she dished out volleys to a group of first years. "Are you really sure, Sonohara-senpai?" she asked again for clarity.

"_Yes_, I'm sure," Haruka nodded quickly. "Don't let her looks deceive you, Takahashi-chan!"

Sure enough, when Kaori and Haruka got to the volley station, Asumi's smile slipped off her face as quick as an icicle melting on a hot summer day. She didn't look so nice anymore, with steely eyes and a displeased frown. "You're the kid who took my locker, right? Takahashi Kana?" Asumi demanded.

"Takahashi _Kaori_," Kaori corrected, feeling her annoyance build up. Jesus, who the hell did Asumi think she was, the prime minister? "And really, it's just a locker, so I don't think it's such a big deal."

Asumi scoffed. "It's not just a locker, kid, at least not to me. My sister had that same locker when she went here, and I have to have it too," she snapped.

"So what?" Kaori retorted. "It's just a stupid locker!"

Asumi continued glaring at her, until finally Haruka spoke up nervously. "Um, excuse me, senpai, but shouldn't we get on with the drill?" she cut in politely, shooting Kaori a worried look that said _now you've done it._

Kaori returned it with a look that said _I'm not done yet_. And she certainly wasn't, except it would be a long time before she was.

**~xXx~**

The next day went past like a blur, and soon enough it was time for the ranking tournaments. Arine was pretty nervous at the thought of it.

"So, how are you feeling, Kidani?" Zaizen yawned, covering his mouth with a hand. "Think you'll make the team this year?"

With that, Arine's stomach flip-flopped for about the fiftieth time that day. She groaned, said, "Stop reminding me over and over, Zaizen-kun, I'm nervous enough as it is," though with good humor. "And what about you? What if your spot gets taken away by some newbie that can barely serve?" She teased.

Zaizen rolled his eyes. "Like that would ever happen," he deadpanned. Suddenly, upon noticing a certain brown haired speedstar and his girlfriend, Zaizen said, louder, "Though I wouldn't be surprised if that would happen to Kenya-senpai, since he's so clumsy and distracted all the time."

"Oi!" Kenya called, jerking his head up at the sound of Zaizen's voice. Narumi, who was Arine's upperclassman on the tennis team, smiled in amusement and sent Arine a wave, as if to say _boys_. Quite frankly, Arine couldn't agree more.

Ignoring Kenya's dorky shouting and Zaizen's bored insults, Narumi said, "How are you feeling actually though, about the ranking matches?"

Arine shrank down, stared at her feet. "I'm really nervous," she admitted. "Not just because I'm in the same block as Sakita-senpai, but because I really want to play with Nakagawa-buchou and this is my last chance."

Narumi ruffled her hair lightly, smiling distantly as she looked off at the boys. "Don't worry, Kidani. Everyone wants to play with Seika, but there's only a select few she wants to play with."

"Am I one of those select few, senpai?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

Suddenly, Arine wasn't as nervous as she was determined for the ranking matches to begin. _Bring it on_, she thought. _Let me prove my worth to you, buchou._

**~xXx~**

"Game, set, and match, Nakagawa! 6-3, 6-1!"

Haruka bit her lip in frustration, but then she put on a smile directed at the blue haired third year "Thanks for the match, Onee-chan. I've still got a lot to work on, huh?" She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

Seika merely lifted her shoulders up and down once as she shook Haruka's hand. "You're doing alright," was all she said before she exited the court, headed off to her next match.

The second year could do nothing but watch her go sadly, wondering just what she'd done to make her half-sister hate her so much.

**~xXx~**

"Game, set, and match, Chiaki! 7-6, 7-5!"

"Nice match, Nanase!" Kaiya grinned widely, high fiving the ash brown haired vice captain. "That's probably our closest yet, isn't it?"

Nanase grinned back in response. "You almost had me there in the first set, Kaiya. We easily could have taken it to three, you know." She laughed.

Kaiya shrugged. "Oh well, I guess it just wasn't my day. Let's go check in with Watanabe-sensei about our score," she said, jogging off towards the clubhouse where Watanabe Osamu was recording scores for both boys and girls.

Nanase was about to run off after her, until suddenly she felt a searing, twisting pain in her left knee. And then it was gone, completely back to normal.

What, she wondered as she stared down at her left leg in bewilderment, had that been?

**~xXx~**

"Game, set, and match, Minami! 7-5, 6-4!"

_Damn, she's not that bad for a first year_, Narumi thought as she looked carefully at Takahashi Kaori. She looked kind of familiar, actually, though Narumi couldn't remember from where.

"Good match, Minami-senpai," Kaori said, nodding respectfully. She was kind of tall for her age, with black hair and blue-green eyes. Seriously, she looked _really _familiar, but Narumi still couldn't put her finger on it. Did she used to go to a rival school, perhaps?

"Hey, Takahashi?" Narumi called after her. Kaori paused, looked back over her shoulder in curiosity. "Which school did you transfer from?" Narumi asked, racking her brain for anywhere she could somewhat fit the first year's face to. Hyotei, perhaps?

Kaori stiffened, immediately looked away. "That's not important," she mumbled, so quietly Narumi almost didn't catch it. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

Not sure what else to say, Narumi didn't say anymore and let her leave. Seriously though, why did Takahashi Kaori look so familiar, and where was she from?

Some research had to be done, it seemed.

**~xXx~**

"Game, set, and match, Sakita! 6-2, 6-4!"

With a sigh of defeat, Arine shook Akari's hand. She wasn't upset that she'd lost to Akari—that much had been expected from the start—but she was actually kind of happy. This had been her last match of the day and she'd won all the others, meaning she was a regular now.

"Congratulations for making it, Kidani-san," Akari said quietly, offering her a shy smile. As pretty as she was, Akari was shy and quiet and tried to stay unnoticed, which baffled Arine. But Akari probably had her reasons, so she wasn't going to be one to judge.

"Thanks, Sakita-senpai," Arine said graciously. "Should we go tell sensei our score now—oh…"

Only then did Arine notice that Akari wasn't paying attention, that she was staring off in a trancelike state at someone on the boys' courts. He was watching her, too, leaning casually against the fence.

_Oh, _Arine thought, _oh_. That wasn't something she really wanted to meddle with.

"Actually, senpai, why don't I go tell sensei the score? You can go talk to Shiraishi-senpai, if you want," she said gently, knowing that somewhere nearby Narumi would be very unhappy to hear that Arine had allowed Akari to go to him. But it still wasn't any of Arine's business, and she didn't feel like intervening.

"Hmm, oh, thanks, Kidani-san," Akari murmured, nodding slightly.

Arine was about to say more, but Akari was already too far gone. Clamping her mouth shut, she headed off and wondered just what her senpai had gotten herself into.

**~xXx~**

"Hey…" Akari said softly, stopping three feet away from him. She never knew how close she could or should get, and he never told her, either. Sometimes he wanted her closer, other times he didn't want her near him at all.

Shiraishi merely tilted his head, studied her carefully with that same look he always gave her that made her blood burn in a way she didn't know was good or bad but made her feel wanted all the same. "Congratulations on keeping your regular position," he said, something in his voice that sounded like he meant it. "You were pretty good."

"Thanks," she nodded breathlessly, wondering if she should step closer. What would happen if she did? Would he move away, tell her that he didn't want her right now? She didn't want that to happen, would try everything in her power to keep it from becoming real. Akari didn't have much, and she knew that she didn't truly have him either, but sometimes she thought she really did, when they were together at night. What would she do?

He ended up deciding for her, moving forward and bringing his mouth to hers. His bandaged hand was on the back of her neck, smooth and papery and cool, a contrast to her burning skin. The other arm was around her waist, holding her close to him, almost too close that she could barely breathe. But she didn't mind, because it made her feel good, feel _wanted_.

She leaned into him, pressing him against the fence as his grip on her waist grew tighter and tighter and she felt more and more like she was wanted yet disappearing.

* * *

><p><strong>~xXx~<strong>

**End**

**~xXx~**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Okay, so I can explain why there's a character called Nanase and a character called Haruka. It's because I'm a _Free! _fangirl, alright, and I still haven't let it go even if it ended two months ago…*sobs*….

(By the way, I'll never stop talking about _Free! _so trek carefully my friends, trek carefully)

Anyway, so this is my new project! It's a spinoff of "From Sky High" that revolves around the Shitenhouji teams. Minami Narumi, aka Kenya's girlfriend, will be mentioned/make appearances several times in the main storyline.

This was mainly a prologue, where all the eight girls are introduced and given a little background, but nothing much yet. The next eight chapters will each be about one character in particular, and then the tenth chapter will be a sort of epilogue.

Here's the list of characters on the girls' tennis team:

Nakagawa Seika, captain (3rd year)

Chiaki Nanase, vice captain (3rd year)

Hanamaru Kaiya (3rd year)

Minami Narumi (3rd year)

Sakita Akari (3rd year)

Sonohara Haruka (2nd year)

Kidani Arine (2nd year)

Takahashi Kaori (1st year)

**UP NEXT**

**Chapter 2: In which Narumi contemplates bashing her head against a wall**

Love, Cara


	2. Narumi

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

**A/N**: I'm trying to update as much as I can before things get really busy, so enjoy these new chapters while they last :)

* * *

><p><strong>~xXx~<strong>

**Chapter 2: In which Narumi contemplates bashing her head against a wall**

**~xXx~**

"_So wake me up when it's all over_

_When I'm wiser and I'm older_

_All this time I was finding myself_

_And I didn't know I was lost."_

—Avicii, _Wake Me Up_

**~xXx~**

* * *

><p>There were, in all honesty, not that many things that got Narumi riled up. Idiocy was one thing, and sure, she wasn't the biggest fan of nails on a chalkboard or the sound of her cat retching up hairballs, but come on, who in their right mind would ever like those things? She was pretty sure that in the universal guidebook to things that made one grit their teeth and cringe and cuss at the world, those were somewhere in the first chapter.<p>

In fact, the only thing—excuse her, the only _person_—who made Narumi want to grit her teeth and cringe and cuss at the world was Shiraishi fucking Kuranosuke, her best friend's boyfriend.

Akari had always been infatuated with Shiraishi, ever since she met him in their first year of high school. Personally, Narumi couldn't understand why. She would admit that Shiraishi was a gorgeous human being, but his motives and personality weren't as gorgeous as his looks, at least according to Narumi.

It wasn't just the fact that he was, to put it bluntly, carelessly screwing around with Akari, but Narumi just thought his personality was _boring_. His tennis was _boring_, too, though undeniably effective. He was top ranked academically, but didn't stand out much in class, and that made him _boring_. Shiraishi simply didn't possess any stunning or extraordinary qualities except for his good looks, because, well, the boy was damn beautiful.

(Most definitely prettier than Narumi herself, though that wasn't important. Not important at all)

Narumi's boyfriend, Oshitari Kenya, unfortunately, was best friends with Shiraishi, and she just didn't get it. How could someone as funny and energetic as Kenya be friends with someone as boring as Shiraishi? It made no sense.

She'd mentioned that to Kenya several times before, of course, and each time he would only laugh, not offended at all (which was just one of the many things she liked about Kenya). He'd always say, "Shiraishi says the same about you, you know?" with amusement glimmering in his blue eyes.

"Then he's a hypocrite," Narumi would always shoot back, though she knew that she was always smiling whenever she said that. "Stupid goddamn pretty boy."

And Kenya would always laugh, which made things marginally better.

**~xXx~**

In the locker room, eight girls stood in a circle, all silent. Their expressions were varying, some skeptical, some doubtful, some excited, and some impassive.

Narumi happened to fit into the skeptical category. Seika remained impassive.

"They're just uniforms, girls," Seika shrugged, picking up her new jersey and brushing off specks of dust that were invisible to everyone but somehow she could see them anyway (typical Seika). "Most of you even had them last year, so get used to it," she added.

"Seika," Nanase spoke seriously, placing a hand on her captain's shoulder. In a monotone, she explained very simply, "Our uniforms suck."

Kaiya nodded in agreement, fiddling with the hem of her new tennis skirt. "Why can't we ever get cool ones like Hyotei or Rikkai or Seigaku? We always end up looking like tennis balls—and that is _not _a compliment, either," the honey-eyed girl complained, hands moving to fidget with the collar of her fitted yellow and green shirt.

"Because yellow and green are our school colors, number one," Seika explained in a deadpan, flicking Nanase's hand off her shoulder. There appeared to be a note of amusement in her voice, but Narumi could never tell when her captain was being serious or not, she just always assumed that Seika was. "And number two, it's not in my best interest to have our team look like bumblebees or sailor scouts, thank you very much."

Ignoring Kaiya's teasing protests of how much she _loved_ sailor scouts, Seika shut her locker and left. "Be ready in half an hour, I'm not going to tolerate lateness when Districts are so soon," she called without looking back.

That left the remaining seven to stare at their uniforms with distaste. Well, except Haruka. The girl was always smiling, so she didn't really count.

Finally, Nanase sighed. She glanced once more down at her jersey in distaste, then shrugged. "These uniforms suck, but they're not terrible," Nanase decided, picking up her racquet. "Anyway, we don't want to anger the dragon, so yeah, like she said, be ready to play in half an hour." She said as she also left.

"What do you think of the uniforms, Kaori-chan?" Haruka asked excitedly, twirling around a little as she tied her blonde hair up—seriously, Narumi wondered where the stop button was on that girl, even if she was rather fond of her.

Kaori shrugged, though she pulled at the hem of her shirt self-consciously. "We do kind of look like tennis balls," she admitted, studying her skirt. It was smooth and white, with a green stripe going down the side like how the boys had with their shorts. "But I kind of like it, even if it's a lot different from my old uniform," Kaori smiled a little.

Haruka's grin was so wide Narumi was half-worried it would split her face. As if sensing that Narumi wasn't being so optimistic, the second year turned to her. "See, Minami-senpai, it isn't that bad, is it? Kaori-chan likes them."

"I understand that, Haruka-chan," Narumi said, trying to keep a straight face. "And it's not like I was complaining, anyway. That was all Kaiya."

"Hey!" Kaiya cried indignantly, shooting up. "Blame Nanase if anyone, she was complaining the most!"

Narumi laughed, when she saw Akari yawn. "You're tired today, Aka. Were sensei's lectures more boring than usual?" Narumi asked, brow knitting in concern.

Akari flinched noticeably. "No, I just didn't get home until pretty late," she replied awkwardly, like she was dancing around words she didn't want to say. Which, of course translated into _I was with Shiraishi_.

Concentrating very hard on not exploding, Narumi said through gritted teeth, "Oh."

**~xXx~**

"I just don't _get _it," Narumi complained, positively fuming on the inside. Nanase and Seika stared at her as if there was steam coming out of Narumi's ears, which, quite frankly, she wouldn't have been surprised if there actually was.

"What does Aka see in that pretty boy? He's so _boring_," she continued, crossing her arms and kicking angrily at the hard court.

Delicately, Nanase reached over and patted her head a few times, which Narumi would have found absolutely demeaning if it hadn't been Nanase doing it. The tall vice captain offered a resigned smile, blue eyes amused. "You know Shiraishi-kun's not a bad person, Rumi. Give it a break for once, just relax," she said patiently.

At the exact same time, Seika casually replied, "Maybe it's because he is a really pretty boy," while readjusting her racquet strings.

"Hey!" Nanase complained, whirling to face her with her hands on her hips. "That's my dear friend you're talking about there, Seika!"

"I'm sure the feeling isn't mutual, Chiaki," the captain cut in smoothly, face clear of all emotion but her mouth was twitched up just enough for it to look like the beginnings of a smirk.

Narumi glanced back and forth from them in surprise, before breaking out in a smile. As impassive and authoritative as she was, Seika still really did like and respect Nanase, and Nanase was as breezy and unaffected as she was relaxed. As a result, they worked quite well together, even if they appeared to be polar opposites at a first glance.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Seika and Haruka, the half-sisters. Seika had always been dismissive of the second year, refusing to tell people that they were sisters and ignoring her in general. Haruka, meanwhile, was always trying to get Seika to like her, though to little avail that was.

"Anyway," Seika said, back to her usual business-like and no nonsense self. "Now that we've finished talking about Chiaki's friend and Sakita's boyfriend—don't give me that glare, Minami, he's technically her boyfriend—why don't we discuss our lineup for Districts?"

Narumi swallowed back her scowl, muttered, "Yeah, sure," which Nanase echoed.

For some reason that the gods only knew, Nanase and Narumi had become Seika's right hand girls. By the blue haired captain's words, Kaiya was "too unpredictable and got into too much trouble" and Akari was "too much of a delicate little flower" and that automatically left Nanase, who was relaxed and calm, and Narumi, who was fiery-tempered but intelligent.

Seated behind her desk, Seika calmly said, "Chiaki and Hanamaru in Doubles 2 to start things off, but they'll probably be in 1 for the majority of the season. That alright, Chiaki?"

Nanase nodded, filling in her and Kaiya's names. It wasn't like she had a choice, anyway, since nobody ever defied Seika. Rule #1: Seika was always right.

"I'd like to see the new one, Takahashi, in singles," Seika mused, jade green eyes deep in thought. "She definitely has potential."

"If you don't mind, Seika-buchou, I'd like to object to that," Narumi cut in, internally withering under Seika's winter eyes. "I'd like to play doubles with Takahashi Kaori for our first match."

Seika raised a brow. "Interesting, Minami," she said carefully, tone suggesting that she certainly did not find it interesting at all, and that Narumi would be in big trouble later. Rule #2: Never disagree or challenge Seika. "I was thinking of having Haruka play doubles with you, with Sakita and Takahashi as our other singles players with Kidani sitting out, but since you seem to disagree, why don't you tell me exactly what you have in mind?"

In the corner, pen hovering over the lineup sheet, Nanase cringed for Narumi.

Taking a deep breath (Rule #3: Never show fear to Seika. She can detect fear), Narumi very calmly, or as calmly as she could, said, "I think you should bench Aka until she's in a more stable state of mind."

"I thought I said we were done talking about Sakita and her boyfriend," Seika replied, face impassive but voice cutting and icy. "I'm sorry, Minami, but I don't like to mix personal affairs or feelings with tennis, so Sakita shouldn't have to be benched just because she's having emotional problems."

Narumi jerked her head up in anger, red washing her vision. "Do _not _dismiss Aka like that," she snapped, hands clenching into fists. "She's a human being, not some robot."

"When it comes to competition and sports, Minami, you can't let your emotions get the better of you. Sakita's a very pretty flower, but she's also just as delicate, and if she's going to remain on my team she needs to get stronger. Do you understand that?" the captain retorted quietly, rising from behind her desk. "She's never going to get stronger—emotionally or physically—unless you be a little hard on her, Minami. Do you understand that?" Her green eyes never burned, they _froze_. They could freeze like icy snow in the dead of winter, and they were so cold that they burned the victim.

Resisting the urge to lose her temper, Narumi chose to simply glare at her captain as she swallowed her fireball of anger and pride. She hated admitting it, since she was also used to being right, but when it came down to it, Seika _was _always right, and somehow moralistic at the same time.

"Fine," she admitted, crossing her arms to hide her still clenched fists. "You want Aka to play singles, so of course she will. Just let me have Takahashi-san as my partner for this one match, or is that too much to ask for?" Narumi challenged, completely ignoring Rule #2. Screw the rules, she was Shitenhouji's fucking doubles ace, and she would be getting her way when it came to who her partner was going to be, even when her dragon of a captain was damn fucking scary.

Seika tilted her head to the side, twirling a strand of curly blue-black hair around her finger. On most girls it would make them look cute or flirty, but Seika wasn't most girls, she was a dragon, and she looked downright predatory when she did it. "Alright, Minami, you can get Takahashi as your doubles partner." Turning to Nanase, she added, "Sakita gets Singles 2."

The vice captain nodded, visibly relieved that the stormy tension had vanished. Jotting down the new names, she asked, "And Singles 3 for Haruka-chan?" Her hand was already poised to write down the blonde second year's name.

"No," Seika replied shortly, striding across the room. She opened the door, and without looking back, replied, "Kidani will play in Singles 3. Haruka will be benched in the first match." The door didn't slam behind her, but it was shut hard enough to convey her message.

Narumi bit her lip, wondering just what she had done. She'd gotten Kaori as her doubles partner, yes, but to what expense?

Rule #4: Seika didn't give favors. Everything came with a price.

**~xXx~**

"And now I just feel terrible, Kenya," Narumi sighed, rolled onto her back. It was nine at night, way after practice had ended but her guilt was still strong. "Haruka-chan doesn't deserve to be benched, and it's all because I demanded for Takahashi-san as my doubles partner."

Over the phone, Kenya's voice patiently said, "It's not your fault, Narumi. Didn't you make a deal with Nakagawa that you'd play doubles in every match as long as you got to choose who your partner would be?" He reminded her.

She paused, biting her lip in thought. Kenya was right, but it wasn't like that deal she'd made with Seika had ever guaranteed any safety. When they were first years, Shitenhouji girls' doubles had been very strong, with Nanase and Kaiya already a very promising pair and with two third years that had been very good. But then the next year, when their former Doubles 1 team had graduated, they'd been left with only one working doubles pair, and that was Nanase and Kaiya.

The captain had been pretty desperate for a second pair, and Narumi, who had never before tried doubles in her life, had decided to give it a shot. Upon finding out that she was actually quite naturally skilled at it, Narumi had converted to being a doubles player with the former vice captain.

But now, this year, Shitenhouji was once again at a lack of a second doubles pair. Seika, who knew of Narumi's natural talents at doubles, had made a deal with her. Narumi would have to play doubles in every official match, but she would be allowed to choose her own partner for each one.

Originally, Narumi had planned on having Akari be her doubles partner, since they had been best friends since middle school, but now, with the introduction of the new, interesting first year, Narumi was rather curious to see how Kaori would do. Also, there was just something mysterious about the new girl, something that Narumi felt like she already knew but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Suddenly remembering that she was still on the phone with Kenya, and that he was waiting for her response—and he _hated _waiting, she knew—Narumi hastily brought her cell phone back to her ear. "I guess I should have realized that I was making a deal with a dragon," she sighed, taking her large framed "hipster" glasses off so she could rub tiredly at her eyes. "I just hope Haruka-chan won't be too upset, but I can't blame her if she is."

"Yeah," Kenya agreed. "She loves tennis more than anyone I know."

For a moment all was quiet, until Narumi suddenly heard a faint beep. Frowning, she sat up, said, "Kenya, are you also calling your cousin right now?"

She heard him yelp out in surprise, and then a _thunk _that meant he had either a) dropped his phone or b) his jaw had fallen all the way to floor because of how shocked he was. "Um, maybe…it depends…actually, no, it's complicated…but no, I'm not, I swear!" he tried desperately to find words, probably well aware of the fact that he was busted.

Narumi scoffed, an amused smile gracing her features. "It's fine, Kenya. I can't exactly stop you from talking to your cousin, can I?" She found it rather endearing, actually, how Kenya was always so quick to insult and complain about his cousin Yuushi, but how he never failed to call him every three days. Just another thing she really liked about him.

"Well, just remember to brag about me like you always do," she laughed, stifling a yawn with her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kenya. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye, Narumi."

Just as she was about to hang up, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and Kenya?"

"Yeah?"

She smirked. "I'm not giving you answers to the history homework tomorrow, so you'd better start doing it now or else you'll fail the test. Think of this as your punishment for talking to your cousin at the same time you're talking to me, okay?"

"There's a test tomorrow?!"

Satisfied, Narumi listened to him swear for a couple seconds before hanging up.

**~xXx~**

It kind of sucked that she disliked Shiraishi so much, because they saw each other way too much at school.

Academic ranking-wise, Shiraishi was third while Narumi was fourth (Seika just happened to be second, but it's not like Narumi really cared, anyway. Seriously, she _didn't_). Koharu, the misunderstood genius, was first, and Kenya was ranked tenth. This made Shiraishi the second best boy, while Narumi was the second best girl. As a result, they were associated very closely with each other, and teachers always made sure that they performed the same class duties on the same days.

It also sucked that they'd been in the same class since freshmen year. What's more, they were seat partners this year, too! Clearly Narumi had lucked out (not).

She absolutely, positively, hated it.

"I think you're lucky though, Narumi," Akari said to her quietly during practice. Districts were coming up soon, and Narumi, who had been dealing with Shiraishi asking her to pass on several messages to Seika regarding the two tennis clubs, had been fuming. Akari, as usual, had been able to sense what had been Narumi's source of anger, and as usual, it was Shiraishi.

"I mean," the wavy haired girl continued, avoiding Narumi's eyes by concentrating on reapplying grip tape to her racquet. "My seating partner is Morikawa-kun, and he never shuts up. At least Shiraishi-kun knows when enough is enough, and that he should be quiet."

Grudgingly, Narumi had to agree. She didn't like him because she found his personality and tennis boring, and because she didn't approve of his relationship with Akari, but he wasn't a _bad _person. She'd actually found him rather nice when they first met, and he still was.

But then she remembered that Kenya had said that her feelings of dislike to Shiraishi were mutual, so that made the pretty boy lose some major Narumi points.

"Well, whatever," Narumi shrugged, though she could still feel the last pits of annoyance still bubbling. She served the ball that had been in her hand for the last fifteen minutes, smiling a little when it went perfectly cross-court. "Morikawa, though? Wow, that really sucks, Aka."

"I know," Akari moaned, bouncing the ball up and down. "And all his annoying friends are seated close by, too. It's awful."

Narumi laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, Kenya's next to Asumi-san."

That caused Akari to mishit her serve so badly that it flew all the way onto the boys' courts, but she didn't appear to notice. "Asumi Asaka-san, whose locker Takahashi-san took?" she repeated, an incredulous look on her face.

"Yeah," Narumi nodded.

"Also, the Asumi-san that hates you because you made her slip on root beer?"

She groaned. "For the last time, Aka, it was _Kaiya_! She took _my _root beer and spilled it all over the floor, then shoved it back in my hand and scurried off!" she protested.

Akari laughed. "My mistake, my mistake. Poor Kenya-kun, though."

"Yeah," Narumi agreed. Suddenly, she noticed how Akari looked even more tired than before, despite her laughter. Narrowing her eyes, she demanded, "Aka, was Shiraishi over again last night?"

Akari flinched like she'd just been slapped. "No, he actually wasn't," she mumbled quietly, ducking her head down. "I just stayed up a little too late doing homework, that's all."

Before Narumi could reply, a rather whimsical sounding voice said, "Excuse me, but which of you was it that hit this ball?" Chitose Senri came up behind them, rubbing at the back of his head with one hand and holding a tennis ball up with the other.

"How could it have been one of—_ohh_," the two girls realized at the exact same time. It must have been Akari's mishit that flew all the way across to the boys' court.

"What's going on here?" Seika walked over, arms crossed and brows raised. "Don't tell me one of you messed up and hit a serve so out that it landed on Chitose?"

Exchanging worried and somewhat terrified glances, they pointed to the other and said, at the same time, "It was her!"

They both ended up with ten extra laps.

**~xXx~**

On the morning of districts, most of the team was gathered together around the entrance. Seika and Nanase had gone off to retrieve some forms, but they had already submitted the lineup and signed in so the whole team didn't have to be there. The other six were just lounging around, waiting for the boys to arrive.

"We," Kaiya muttered rather dejectedly, "look like tennis balls." And it was true, thanks to the bright green and yellow of their jerseys. Several people who passed by snickered, even if they knew that Shitenhouji was one of the strongest teams in the nation.

"Maybe that's because we're tennis players, Kaiya," Akari supplied helpfully, though she also didn't seem too enthusiastic about how much attention they were getting.

Kaiya nodded slowly. "Right. Fucking tennis," she muttered.

"Fucking tennis," Narumi agreed. Turning to Kaori, she said, "Ready to kick ass at doubles today, Takahashi?"

"Yeah," Kaori nodded, nibbling on a fingernail in thought. It must have been a nervous habit of hers, as Narumi noticed that most of her fingers were chewed down to little stubs. "I never really got the chance to play doubles before though, senpai, just warning you."

"It's fine," Narumi waved it away flippantly. "It's only the first round of Districts, most of the other teams are crappy, anyway."

Kaori nodded, though she continued to chew on her nail.

Remembering that there was someone else who was bound to be nervous, Narumi searched around for Arine, lightly flicking the second year's ash brown ponytail. "How are you liking being on the same team as Seika? Having fun?" she asked.

Arine smiled shyly. "It's kind of hard, since buchou's so tough," she admitted. "But I like it! And…" lowering her voice, Arine said, "…I don't understand why I'm in singles today, though, and Sonohara-san isn't."

_It's because I was so selfish and insistent on whom my doubles partner would be that this is my punishment_. "Who knows what goes on through Seika's head," Narumi said instead, feigning innocence by shrugging. "But good luck today, Arine-chan, you'll do great."

"Thanks, Minami-senpai," Arine said gratefully, though her nerves were still evident.

Narumi smiled at her one more time, before eyeing the other second year on the team. Haruka didn't _look _upset, but then again, she was always smiling so no one could ever tell. The blonde second year was chatting brightly with Kaiya, no trace of sadness evident, so for now, Narumi supposed that it was okay.

**~xXx~**

"The Districts preliminary match between Shitenhouji High and Okakura High is about to begin. Doubles 2 players, please enter the court."

"Don't screw up too badly," Akari teased softly, a genuine smile on her tired features. "It'll be a disgrace to the name of Shitenhouji, you know."

Nanase snorted. "More like a disgrace to the name of Nakagawa Seika," she muttered under her breath, casting a quick glance at the captain to make sure she hadn't heard. "Seika would _kill _us if we lost."

"No," Kaiya disagreed, shaking her head. Solemnly, she continued, "She'd torture us first by making us run laps until we die, and then she'll use our bones and hair to make racquets."

There was a good silence for about ten seconds, the whole team just staring at Kaiya with expressions of horror, shock, or queasiness. Finally, Seika said, "I can _hear _you, Hanamaru, and if you don't get out on the court right now that might just happen to you. I've been meaning to get a new racquet soon, anyway."

"Hey!" Kaiya cried indignantly, honey eyes alarmed. "If anything, use Nanase, she's taller!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Nanase sighed, smiling in amusement as she dragged her partner onto the court. "Now come on, let's actually be serious for once."

Kaiya grinned, or was it a smirk now? "I'm always serious, dear Nanase."

**~xXx~**

"Game, set, and match, Shitenhouji's Chiaki-Hanamaru! 6-0, 6-0!"

Narumi had to smile. As mischievous and playful as she was, when Kaiya put her mind to things she could be pretty damn serious. Usually, the captain was the best player, which Seika was, but Nanase wasn't second best, it was Kaiya. Plus, her net skills and reflexes were just superb, and Nanase was fast and powerful at the baseline.

"Let's go, Takahashi," Narumi said, adjusting her glasses and tightening her ponytail. "Nanase and Kaiya finished in only half an hour, so that means we have to finish in less than an hour."

Kaori shot her a quizzical look. "Don't you mean we have to finish in half an hour, too?"

Narumi shook her head. "Nope, that's impossible since we're a brand new doubles pair. We just can't twice the amount of time they did, because that would be embarrassing, you know?"

"Everyone here is so weird," Narumi could have sworn she heard Kaori mumble, but she chose not to comment. It was true, after all.

Kaori, as it turned out, was actually kind of good at doubles, especially since this was her first time. She sometimes forgot to guard the alley, sure, but those were mistakes that any beginner would make. They managed to clinch a 6-3 victory in close-cutting fifty-seven minutes, which Kaiya continued to remind them of.

Arine did quite well, too, winning at 6-4. Akari, though visibly exhausted and tired—for what reasons, Narumi still did not know, but she was determined to find out somehow—won at 6-2, and it was Seika's turn.

"Break a leg, Seika-buchou!" Kaiya called, holding out a cheeky thumbs up as the blue haired captain shook hands with her opponent.

Seika side-eyed her, a single brow lifted up. "When haven't I?" she simply replied. Her opponent was a good six inches taller than her—Seika was the second shortest on the team, only taller than Kaori—but it was the Okakura player that looked much more afraid.

"Hey, remember that half an hour is the time to beat!" Nanase called out, smirking as she bumped fists with Kaiya.

Twenty-eight minutes later, the vice captain and the second seed found themselves running laps around all the courts in the entire area.

**~xXx~**

The boys won just as quickly and easily, with Kintarou finishing up with a stunning win. As they congratulated each other, Narumi sought out Kenya in the crowd.

"Hey," she smiled, greeting him with a quick peck on the cheek. "Are we still going out for dinner tonight?"

Was it just her, or did Kenya visibly gulp? No, he definitely did, she realized, because he was sheepishly rubbing at the back of his neck with a nervous smile, one that said _please don't be mad at me_. "Err, Narumi, we may or may not be going on a double date, actually." He mumbled quietly, not meeting her gaze.

Narumi raised a brow in suspicion. "A double date? With who—_oh_. No, Kenya, please tell me you did not…"

"I did," he confirmed, sheepishly taking a step back. "And I'm sorry, Narumi, really. Kura just asked, and I wasn't really thinking so I said yes and by the time I realized it, it was already too late, and I'm sorry, really," Kenya sighed, hanging his head down in shame.

She didn't know what to do, but if there was anything she _shouldn't _do it was to be angry with him. Kenya had just been trying to be nice to his best friend, and even if Narumi couldn't stand said best friend, it wasn't something worth getting in a fight over. Her and Kenya had only been together for about a month, and she wasn't too keen on getting into any major fights yet.

"Okay," was all she said, letting out a breath and a smile. "That's fine."

Kenya's head jerked up in surprise. "Really? I mean, you're okay with that, Narumi?" He checked, looking somewhat skeptical. She didn't blame him, really.

"Yeah, it's fine," Narumi shrugged. "It's just one date, it's not like it's the end of the world. I promise to be on my best behavior around the pretty boy," she smirked.

"Oh, thank god," the brown haired boy breathed out in relief, wrapping his arms around her gratefully. "I thought you were going to mad, or flat out kill me," he laughed.

Narumi smirked even more. "That's Seika's job, you know. I could always hire her to do that."

Kenya laughed nervously. "Maybe I shouldn't talk to Yuushi anymore when I'm on the phone with you."

"Damn right, you idiot."

**~xXx~**

"Four Chef's Choice, please."

"Thank you for ordering. They should be ready in about twenty minutes."

Once the waiter left, the four of them lapsed into awkward silence. They were sitting in a booth of a fancy restaurant, all still in their green and yellow uniforms and feeling horribly out of place. Narumi sat with Akari, while their respective boyfriends were across from them.

"Nice job today, to both teams," Kenya finally said, in an attempt to strike up conversation. "Looks like Shitenhouji is off to a good start, huh?"

"Yeah," Shiraishi agreed, taking a sip of water. "Zaizen could very well take the Singles 2 spot soon, and Koharu and Yuuji are doing exceptionally well. I guess they're starting to take it more seriously, since this really is the last year."

Narumi frowned. "Can we not talk about that right now?" She asked, voice steely. Senior year of high school was something every adult had to go through, she knew, but that didn't mean she wasn't anxious about it. She'd long ago made up her mind on what exactly her goal was, and where she wanted to go, and that was something she didn't want anyone to know right now—not Kenya, her boyfriend, or even Akari, her best friend of six years.

Shiraishi raised a brow, almost like he was taunting her. "Okay," he agreed, to her surprise. "But is there a certain reason why you don't want to talk about graduating, Minami?"

Narumi gritted her teeth. She should have known her surprise would be short lived, as the goddamn bastard was trying to provoke her as usual. Vaguely, she could detect Akari kick her ankle under the table in warning, which was just enough to make Narumi swallow her anger. "No, there's not, Shiraishi. It's just that it's still the beginning of the year, so why bother jumping so far ahead already?" She snapped defensively. _They are not going to find out this way, no, they can't. _

Luckily, Kenya was there to direct the conversation to a completely different topic. "Hey, did you hear that Seigaku's Echizen came back from America? Kintarou knew somehow, and he was so excited about it, he wouldn't stop bouncing up and down today," the speedstar laughed, though it was a little too forced.

Shiraishi smiled, too. "One day, I need to talk to Kin-chan's doctor," he sighed in amusement, shaking his head. "I had to promise him a week's worth of takoyaki to make him calm down, but I'm not sure if that just got him even more excited."

"You really shouldn't spoil him, you know," Narumi muttered, vicious satisfaction coursing through her veins at Shiraishi's offended expression. "It's not going to do you or him any good."

"Then why do all of you baby Nakagawa's sister?" he shot back, brown eyes hardened. "I'm not seeing much of a difference between how I treat Kin-chan and how you treat Sonohara."

"There is a goddamn difference," Narumi retorted, positively fuming at this point. "They're both sweet kids, sure, but one of them gets ignored and treated unfairly by her older sister while the other just needs to be kept away from sugar."

Shiraishi glowered at her. "Do _not _say that about Kin-chan," he growled, expression deadly serious.

"That's _enough_," Kenya snapped, glaring at the both of them. Narumi immediately regretted what she'd said when he stared at her like that, so disappointed and angry at her. _Shit, I really fucked this up_.

"I'm sorry, Kenya," she said quietly, averting her gaze to the table. "I really am."

"I'm sorry, too," Shiraishi echoed, sounding every bit as guilty as Narumi felt, and she was horrified by how much satisfaction his guilt gave her.

They relapsed into silence again. Akari, who had not said a word the entire time, didn't say anything for the rest of the evening.

**~xXx~**

Later, as Kenya walked her home, she knew that he was still angry. Angry and disappointed, which made it even worse because she hated disappointing anyone, especially her boyfriend.

"Kintarou has been diagnosed with ADHD and ADD," he suddenly said, voice solemn and quiet. "That's why Kura was so defensive about your comment about him, because Kura really does feel like an older brother to Kin-chan."

Her eyes widened in shock. It wasn't so much about the first year's condition—everyone who knew Kintarou would have expected that—but more because now, it made sense why Shiraishi had reacted so strongly. _I never really think about the fact that he's still a nice guy in the end, huh? _"Kenya," she said, stepping in front of him. "I'm still so sorry about what happened during dinner. I was being really childish and stubborn, and you were only trying to make it a nice night and I'm sorry, again, really."

He eyed her with an unreadable expression, like he wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. Finally, he sighed, ran a hand through his bleached hair and said, "It wasn't your fault Narumi, it was mine."

Narumi knitted her brows in confusion. _His fault? _"How can it be your fault, Kenya? You stopped the fight, not take part in it," she pointed out.

Kenya shook his head. He slowly took her hand in his, staring at their interlaced fingers. "Sakita came up to me after practice one day and asked if we were going on any dates soon. I told her that we were going to have dinner after the district matches, and then she asked if she could join in on a double date."

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, dread and guilt worsening with each beat. "When was this, exactly?"

Kenya shrugged. "About a week ago, I think. Yeah, it was last week. Anyway," he continued, said, "I told her that it wasn't a good idea, since you don't get along with Shiraishi, but then she said that that was why she wanted to go on a double date, because she wants you and Shiraishi to get along."

"No," Narumi shook her head insistently. "Aka knows that I hate him, but it's never affected our friendship or her relationship with him before, so it doesn't really matter, right?" _Right?_

He stared at her with blue eyes that looked tired, defeated, _sad_. "Honestly, it would be kind of nice if my girlfriend and best friend didn't try to get into fights all the time, you know. I think Sakita had the same idea in mind, because I'm tired—we both are—of hearing you and Kura complain about each other, and we can't agree or disagree because we're too afraid of insulting one of you. This has to stop, okay, Narumi? I don't want to deal with being two-faced any longer, it's just not right."

"You don't have to agree with me, I would never be that selfish," she said softly, staring straight into his blue eyes. "I've never asked that from you, I've always just wanted someone to listen."

"Then I'm sorry for how insensitive this sounds, but please don't come to me to complain about Kura, okay?" Kenya smiled weakly. "I'm tired of hearing you complain about him, and then him complaining about you, and me not being able to do anything about it. I know you'll never get along, but could you at least try not to provoke each other anymore?" He sounded desperate now, voice about to crack from how defeated he sounded.

She closed her eyes, opened them just moments later. "I'll try, Kenya, but I can't guarantee I won't lose my temper again since, you know, I get mad pretty easily," Narumi said at last, hoping the storm had passed quickly and painlessly.

Kenya smiled, leaned in closer until their foreheads touched. "I'm not selfish enough to believe you'll stop losing your temper because of me. Anger makes up about three-quarters of you, Narumi." And then he kissed her, short and brief but still so sweet, like honey drizzled over sugar.

They continued walking, hands clasped together. "I should apologize to Aka, shouldn't I?" Narumi murmured quietly.

"Yeah, you definitely should," Kenya agreed, giving her hand a squeeze. "Tomorrow though, and in person. I think she'd like that better."

It was only when they reached her house and he'd kissed her goodnight did she realize that he hadn't asked about why she'd avoided talking about graduation. But she was one hundred percent sure that he hadn't forgotten and wanted to know, and she was also sure that she didn't know how to tell him.

**~xXx~**

Narumi, Shiraishi, and Kenya were all in the same class, while Akari was in a class with Seika and Koishikawa. During lunch, the day after districts and what Narumi now referred to as "The Awkward Dinner of Doom", Narumi had set out to find Akari and apologize.

However, when she got to Class 3-4, she was surprised to see that Akari was not there. Seika and Koishikawa, who were discussing new practice and training regimens, did not know, either.

"Is she with Shiraishi, maybe?" Koishikawa suggested, though his tone was doubtful.

Narumi shook her head. "Shiraishi just went to the cafeteria with Kenya, and Aka always brings lunch so I don't think she's there. Did you see her leave the room."

It was Seika's turn to shake her head. "Sorry, Minami, but I didn't," she said, sounding somewhat sympathetic. "Maybe she went to find you, though, so I'd check your classroom."

Damn it, Narumi thought, Seika _always _had logical, sense-making responses. "Yeah, I guess I will," she agreed, waving as she left. "Bye Seika, Koishikawa-san."

"Did you hear that?" she heard Koishikawa mumble in excitement and amazement. "Minami-san actually knows my name, and she remembered that I was here!"

"That's just one victory, Koishikawa," Seika laughed as Narumi closed the door.

The minute she started walking back to Class 3-2, however, a certain bleach-brown haired speedstar happened to barrel right into her, effectively knocking her down to the ground. "Kenya?" she cried out in shock. "What the hell is going on?"

Kenya, who was back to his dorky and somewhat silly self, took a few deep breaths before extending a hand and helping her up. "Were you just looking for Sakita?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied in confusion. "How did you know?"

Kenya fidgeted a little, twisting his fingers together and then scratching at his head and changing it again to rubbing at the nape of his neck. "Well, Shiraishi and I were coming back from the cafeteria, when we ran into Sakita, who said she was looking for you. Then all of a sudden she just fainted—literally fainted, like she just suddenly fell forward and blacked out with no warning—so that's why I came looking for you," he said quickly, all in one breath. Narumi was actually impressed he'd managed to say that much, but then she realized that there was one whole he'd left in the story.

"Kenya," she said very carefully, remembering what she'd said last night about trying to keep her temper reigned in. _Stop it, Rumi, you don't know anything for sure yet, don't assume the worst when there's no proof—yet._ "Kenya, where exactly is Akari right now?"

He gulped loudly and visibly, fidgeting again. "Well, um, she was brought to infirmary, to lie down."

"By who? You came to me to deliver the news, so that means...?"

Sighing, he confirmed her suspicions. "Shiraishi took her to the infirmary."

**~xXx~**

She didn't know what kind of demon possessed her, but she found herself running like hell down to the first floor, where the infirmary was. But no matter how fast she was in this possessed state, Kenya was still faster than her, and he managed to tackle her down for the second time in less than five minutes.

"Calm down!" He cried out, ignoring the stares several students were giving them. "It's not that big of a deal, Narumi, he just took her to infirmary and she's not even conscious! Wait, that sounds kind of bad. Never mind, forget I just said that."

"I'm not mad, Kenya," Narumi replied calmly, almost too calmly for her own liking. She knew that if this had been just twenty-four hours ago she would have flipped shit, probably swearing up a storm as she stormed through the hallways. But somehow, her promise to Kenya last night made her considerably calmer, and it felt both relieving and somewhat annoying.

Kenya let her up, but he still looked skeptical. "Narumi, there's no way you aren't mad, and don't deny it."

"I'm not mad," she repeated, brushing off dust from her school dress. "I might be, actually, but I'm not going to kill Shiraishi. I'm just going to talk to him, okay? And that," Narumi finished grimly. "Is what I am going to do to that fucking pretty boy."

Kenya was speechless for a few seconds, before he laughed a little, reaching over to playfully tug on her brown-black ponytail. "It's funny, you know, that you call him pretty boy. Is he prettier than me?" He teased.

She rolled her eyes, punched him lightly in the arm. "Definitely. Gin's prettier than you, too," Narumi deadpanned, smirking a little as she strode off towards the infirmary.

"Harsh," Kenya muttered, staring after her fondly.

**~xXx~**

_Do not lose your temper, Narumi, do not lose your fucking temper or else you'll have broken your promise to Kenya._

_But you didn't really promise not to _ever _lose your temper again, did you? You just said that you'd try not to get angry as much as you used to around the pretty boy._

_So? You just told him twenty seconds ago that you weren't going to be mad, and you said that you'd just talk to Shiraishi, remember?_

_Damn._

She arrived at the infirmary, still unsure of what to do. Yell or apologize? No matter how much she didn't like him, he was still the one Akari had fallen so deeply in love with—too much, Narumi thought—and he was still Kenya's best friend, and she'd promised to be nicer to him.

And then she remembered how he'd provoked her during dinner the night before, and what he'd said about Haruka, who didn't deserve any of the crap she'd been given lately—not being benched, not being treated so poorly by her sister, and especially not being insulted by Shiraishi.

Narumi opened the door to the infirmary, ready to demand to speak to Shiraishi. But the sight she saw before her caused her to go silent.

Akari was sleeping on the cot, curled up in a feline-like position. Her eyes were rimmed with black circles like they had been for a while now, god, just how long had she been looking this tired? And standing above her was Shiraishi, who was in the process of unfolding a blanket and draping it over her. Narumi watched as he stared at her best friend, something in his expression that she'd never seen before and couldn't read, and then he reached out his bandaged hand and touched Akari's cheek, ran his fingers over her forehead with a tenderness Narumi didn't know he had.

Silently, she shut the door and walked back to her classroom.

**~xXx~**

"Can I talk to you, Minami?"

Without looking at him, she replied, "Sure, go ahead," wondering if she looked at him, would he still be that boy she disliked so much, or would he appear to be soft and gentle like she'd earlier witnessed with Akari?

Shiraishi sat down in his seat next to her, a few minutes before lunch was over left for them to talk. Quietly, he said, "Sakita has had insomnia for several years now, but she never told anyone, and I'm guessing not even you, about it."

"Insomnia?" Narumi demanded, turning to face him in shock and anger, offended that Akari hadn't told her about it. "And I'm guessing she told you, huh?"

"No," he shook his head, gazing down at his bandaged arm, the same one he'd used to touch Akari's face so gently. "The nurse told me. She said that Sakita goes to the infirmary during free time on most days, so she can get some rest. Sakita really didn't tell anyone, Minami, not even you or me."

"Oh," Narumi said, dumbstruck. "Oh. Okay then."

For a couple seconds, neither said a word, one still trying to comprehend everything and the other respectfully quiet. At last, Narumi said, "I'm sorry, Shiraishi, for being so unfair to you at dinner last night, and just being disagreeable in general. I really am sorry, but don't make me repeat that," she cracked a smile, hoping it was enough to make the conversation less awkward.

He smiled back, too, though it was small and thin, easily breakable like a sheet of glass. "I have to apologize too, for trying to get under your skin on purpose. And," he paused for a second, like he was doubting what he had to say next. "And I'm also sorry for not treating Sakita right. She doesn't deserve to be treated the way I treat her, and I've only just realized that now."

Suddenly, Narumi felt so, so, stupid. All this time she'd been getting angry at Shiraishi for the stupidest things—like she thought he was too boring, too perfect, too overrated, too cruel to Akari—but now it didn't matter anymore. He was human like her, and they all made mistakes and did the stupidest things, and god, it was all just so stupid now. She never should have overreacted the way she did, because that had only been because she'd been so intent on disliking him without ever having good reason to.

"It's fine," she waved it away, offering another small smile, one of compromise and newfound respect. "And, about why I didn't want to talk about graduation last night...can you do me a favor, Shiraishi, and not tell Akari or Kenya about this?" At his skeptical glance, she hastily said, "It's not something that's going to be kept from them forever, I promise, it's just…I need to find the right time."

Shiraishi shrugged. "Okay," he nodded. "So why were you so upset when I mentioned graduation?"

"It's because I…because I've received a scholarship to go to Yale University, in Connecticut, in America," Narumi's smile turned weak, her lips suddenly dry and chapped and heart pounding out of nervousness. "And I've gotten accepted early, and I've already made up my mind to go. I'm leaving Japan next year, and I can't find a way to tell Kenya or Akari."

Shiraishi was silent for a good minute, brown eyes widened in shock and surprise. Then, he brought his hand together and clapped quietly for her, smiling a real smile this time. "That's great, Minami. Congratulations."

She groaned. "It's not great though, Shiraishi, because I don't know how to tell Kenya or Akari, and I don't want to leave them, and—."

"And they'll probably be a little upset at first, but then they'll be proud of you," Shiraishi interrupted. "Besides, you're more worried about Sakita, right?" Narumi nodded. "Don't be, though. She can handle it, and you know that too."

"Shiraishi," she suddenly asked, a chance to ask a question that had been on her mind and the tip of tongue for so long but had never been able to be asked. "Do you love her, Akari?"

He looked like he was about to answer, had the teacher not walked into the room at that very minute, signaling the start of class. And when class had ended and school was over, Shiraishi did not speak to her anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>~xXx~<strong>

**End**

**~xXx~**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Whew, that was the longest chapter I've ever written! I hope it was worth the wait! Updates for this story won't be as often as From Sky High—I'm thinking about one chapter of AYWI for every 2-3 of From Sky High, since all the chapters of AYWI will be around this length, which is double those of From Sky High.

Please please PLEASE remember to leave a review and some feedback!

How did y'all like Narumi? She'll be appearing in the main story very soon, and so will a few other Shitenhouji girls that shall be revealed later ;)

**UP NEXT: In which Seika questions the well being and sanity of her team**

Love, Cara


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